camelon, collaboration, community, development, funding, tamfourhill

Great News for SCYAP

20/05/202620/05/2026 bighosie

We are delighted to announce that the National Lottery Young Start Fund have committed another three Years funding for SCYAP 2026-29. This is a tremendous investment in local young people and the Youth Action and community development approach endorsed and supported by the Tamfourhill Tenants & Residents Organisation. This is a significant and strategic investment which will allow SCYAP to sustain and develop new opportunities in partnership with local young people. We will therefore be reviewing our Development Plan for the next three years and young people will play a central role in that process. We have a Project development day scheduled for Sunday 21^st June and I am hoping that there will be good buy in from the community and young people to that days programme. The days activities and workshops will take place at the Well Wild Project in the Rough Castel Woods , further details to follow so please watch this space and our social media posts.

More good funding news with the Hedley Foundation also investing project funds for SCYAP to develop a programme targeted at 10–12-year-olds. This programme will have a community safety focus and will be set within the context of young people transitioning from primary to High School. This builds upon some of the peer mentoring work we supported earlier in the year and there will be an important role for our young volunteers with this project and off course it will be embedded with national youth awards. The programme is scheduled to begin on Tuesday 16^th June and I will highlight how to get signed up and involved with this project in the near future. This programme will operate throughout he summer school holiday months and complement our wider annual holiday programme of activities.

The Hedley Foundation – A Grant Giving Charity

Youth Action on the Canals

The Tamfourhill Totem Pole Trail

The Climate action events we facilitated with young people back in February and March 2025 had highlighted young people’s priorities for local climate action. Key themes were confirmed, including: Encouraging Active Travel , Campaigning for Climate Action locally and Helping Nature and Biodiversity. The Tamfourhill Totem Pole Trail embraced all of these aspects, and the project proposal was a great fit with young people’s priorities and aspirations for the local area. We were therefore overjoyed to receive funds to implement this Project through the ArtsRoots Fund distributed by Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Scotland.

https://www.walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk/about-us/our-work-in-scotland

The overarching aim of our Project was to creatively engage local young people and support them too research and design ten distinct totem poles which would enhance the active travel route and also highlight and celebrate the natural environment around this stretch of canal in Tamfourhill. This route also forms part of the John Muir Way, so encouraging active travel coupled to the nature and biodiversity of this route made absolute sense.

The Project has involved our Creative Climate Action Group along with Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs Primary Schools and the level of engagement from the young people was excellent, with 50 young people being involved with the different stages of the design and deciding upon the different themes of the totem poles. The project caught their imaginations and through utilising different types of land art and researching interesting facts and details about the natural environment of the canal, young people were able to express themselves creatively and successfully and positively contribute to the Project. A key theme was reflecting on games played as children when out in nature where you used natural objects like sticks and leaves and incorporated them into different children’s games. These ideas are then celebrated on each of the totem poles so that anyone walking or wheeling along the towpath can stop at each respective totem pole and engage in a children’s game or activity as detailed on the crafted poles. This was an excellent feature of this community art project; creatively incorporating children’s nature-based play activities into your active travel experience along this canal towpath route.

I would like to thank Sarah Diver Lang our community artist and design worker who led on this project and not least for being tasked with the challenge of installing these posts into the towpaths difficult terrain. I would also like to express my appreciation to Olivia Lassiere the Environment Manager at Scottish Canals who greatly assisted with the permissions and CAT scans that were required prior to the installation process.

The intention is to have a celebratory activity on the towpath next month which will involve an active travel procession and some engagement activities on the themes of nature and children’s play at each of the ten totem poles. I will update the community with the arrangements for this event in due course.

Here are some photos of the poles after their recent installation along with young people taking part with the design process, but please do go up onto the active travel route along the Canal in Tamfourhill and enjoy the experience of active travel, nature and grab yourself a pooh stick.

The Design process is also detailed here: https://www.sarahdiverlang.com/noticeposts

Cruising the canal with the Seagull Trust:

The Canals have been a big feature and location for significant amounts of our Youth Action throughout April into May. The Creative Climate Action Group enjoyed a great experience cruising along the Canal on the Seagull Trusts Canal boat. We passed the initial Totem poles that had been installed at that time and also went past the two new community orchards that we helped to plant. The cruise concluded with the Falkirk Wheel experience with the boat lift being a first for most of the group. The day was made more interesting through the groups re-enactment of Titanic , singing along to the soundtrack and acting out the main roles. Thankfully no icebergs were encountered. We returned to the seagull trust with the Carmuirs Climate Action Group a week later and this was a different but an equally rewarding experience with this group more focussed upon their yodelling and loud echo going through the top lock gates and then along the tunnel and onto the boat lift.

Paddle pick up on Canoes:

SCYAP has also been supporting the entire P7 class at Easter Carmuirs Primary School with their experiencing and helping nature youth award programme. This has been a varied and at times challenging award programme and included their contribution to the totem poles trail and also encouraging nature and biodiversity in their local Easter Carmuirs Public Park. More recently the class were split into three subgroups who each carried out a paddle pick up along the Forth and Clyde Canal through Camelon and also west towards Bonnybridge and where they learnt skills in canoeing, teamwork , communication whilst also collecting rubbish from the canal. Litter surveys were an important feature of the sessions, and this was carried out in conjunction with Keep Scotland Beautiful Upstream Battle challenge. The aim of this campaign is to change littering behaviour to prevent litter at source along rivers and waterways throughout Scotland. If we can stop litter getting into our waterways then we prevent it polluting our rivers but also stop it from arriving in our seas and oceans where it contributes to extensive environmental damage and exasperates climate change. The surveys revealed that our local canal is improving , there is less rubbish and litter , although this has much to do with the recent efforts of these young people. The main problems are plastic bottles, drinks cans, glass bottles and an array of sweet and crisp wrappers and surprisingly a wooden drawer. My congratulations to these young people for all their efforts and commitment.

Upstream Battle®

Twilight Sports: Summer 2026

And finally, summer must be coming as I am pleased to announce the return of the Twilight Sports programme which is coming to a public park near you. The full programme is below and we start on Friday 12^th June at 6pm in Easter Carmuirs Park , there will be rollerblading with the Falkirk Wheelers, football with Caiden Wilson , Nature and creative activities , visits from the Fire and Rescue Service and regular surgeries from the very popular Dr Bike Service. As always its open to all 10–16-year-olds, food and drinks are provided and it’s all absolutely free. See you soon folks!

Twilight Sports Porgramme 2026 Download

camelon, collaboration, community, development, growing, litter, Our Place, Support, Tidy Clean Green

Community Renewal

17/02/202216/02/2022 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 17 February 2022

We are so pleased to be able to reveal to you that a decent chunk of funding is coming into various projects and organisations in the Camelon and Tamfourhill area thanks to the UK Government Community Renewal Fund.

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fundprospectus

John teased some of this news in his blog this week but here’s the full info.

The whole consortium was brought together initially by Scottish Canals, but is led by the Green Action Trust. As well as them and us, the other partners are Artlink Central, Go Forth and Clyde, Keep Scotland Beautiful/Canal College, Forth Valley College and Forth Environment Link. Things were initially meant to start in August/September time last year but delays from the funder mean we’re all only just able to get going now. This has been frustrating for all partners as many briefs have had to be amended or completely rewritten. But now we can get going with a total of over £700,000 coming in across the whole consortium – and we’ve only got until June to wrap things up!

Our involvement in this consortium is in two smaller projects totalling just under £40,000, supporting groups to work alongside you, the wider community, to vision how various spaces could look and become in the future, both short and long term. More on this is a sec, but for now, a little on what visioning really means. This quote from Simon Sinek says it nicely:

“Vision is the ability to see that which does not yet exist. As we slowly bring that vision to life, more people will start to recognise the work we’re doing and join our crusade. But, like an iceberg, there will always be much more waiting to be revealed underneath the surface.” Simon Sinek

For some time now, a small band of volunteers have been working on a number of projects and activities. Many of them are tired but still full of passion for what could be, which is why they keep going. So, the middle bit of Sinek’s quote is gold, and I think reflects where many people are. They want to be involved but prefer to wait until things have started, then they might consider jumping in once they’ve assessed the lay of the land. That’s totally understandable but, with the work that will happen over the next 4 months, now is the time to jump in. There will be a wide range of ways to get involved and have your say between now and June. Online, offline. Activity, discussion. Formal, informal. And more! So, I hope that many of you will take up the opportunities to do so, otherwise quite simply, if you don’t like what develops then you have little room for complaint if you haven’t had your say! And as Sinek says, more information, ideas, passions and skills will come out of hiding as more people get involved. That’s absolutely what we want to happen!

So, what is going to be funded? There are 2 projects.

Easter Carmuirs Park
The Green Action Trust (formerly known as the Central Scotland Green Network Trust) is back to work alongside the community on taking forward hopes, plans and visions for the park. A draft masterplan was prepared by them back in 2017 that led to the installation of paths, trees and some meadow areas in 2019. But what next? Many ideas were suggested back then, however people have used the park more and begun to understand it in a different way now that you can walk on paths across it and appreciate its scale more. The consultant will work with us and you to bring a meaningful plan together that satisfies community aspirations, attends to community safety matters that have been raised, and present a workable timeline for developments so that full clarity is there for all – something that was missing last time around. Crucially, this will be a chance for the Friends of Easter Carmuirs Park group to come together properly. We teased this back in the Fun in the Park event last October with the hope that this funding would have been in place before now. But now is the time for this group to form, with our support, and become the vehicle to apply for funding and take future developments forward. Watch out for all the ways you can get involved if you live around or use Easter Carmuirs Park in any way at all.

Carmuirs Area
Tidy Clean Green will be leading a range of activities and consultations assisted by us and with external help from The Conservation Volunteers. This is to build on the work that’s been happening over the last year or so with particular focus on the area next to Camelon Juniors car park, and the Brown Street Park. These next few months will give a chance to start pulling together all the strands of research, consultation and activity, and present a workable and fundable plan at the end of the process that can be taken forward either by Tidy Clean Green or another local group. As mentioned earlier, John’s blog this week talks more about this project and reflects on an event in the area last week that was bringing further ideas together from local people. Activities will include litter picks, planting, training sessions, pop up parks, community events and more! Plus this will link with the existing art work and climate action projects that are in process alongside this activity.

So there you have it. We are absolutely thrilled that these areas will get a much needed step forward over these next 4 months. It won’t deliver anything large or secure all the funding needed. But it will take us a massive step forward, importantly, with you the community absolutely engaged. There’s obviously a lot more to what I’ve highlighted here, and we’ll keep you posted as time progresses. This is simply a summary to get your minds whirring. We look forward to working with the consultants, Green Action Trust, Tidy Clean Green, and of course, you, to make further positive change in our community.

Until next time….

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

community, development, employment, funding, Our Place, Support

Apply here…

10/02/202210/02/2022 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 10 February 2022

It’s another news update for you in my blog this week, specifically regarding funding and funded job opportunities.

Funded Job Opportunities
I reported back in November that the Scottish Government had awarded funding to encourage third sector organisations to offer paid work opportunities to people aged over 25 years, who have been unemployed for over 12 months and have additional barriers to employment. This is channelled through local Councils.

This was a great opportunity to get a fully funded member of staff to support a need in your organisation. But we were informed this week that so far only 2 out of a possible 57 posts available in Falkirk have been filled. So if you didn’t think this would work for you first time around, or you missed it completely, now is the time to get an application. Below is the bullet point information, but if you want to discuss this further or be supported to apply to host a job, then give me a shout in the usual way.

Start dates must be before 31^st March 2022. The first start can be 22^nd November 2021.
The jobs will be fixed term for 26 weeks.
Terms & Conditions will align with your organisation (including annual leave, sick pay, holiday pay etc).
These can be entry level positions.
Jobs will be a maximum of 30 hours per week but can be flexible to meet the needs of the individual, i.e. term time, less hours for longer
Each opportunity attracts a notional unit cost to a maximum of £10,000. This notional unit cost is made up of salary costs plus additional costs and is based on 30 hours x 26 weeks (£384.60 per week or an hourly rate of £12.82). The costs will vary against number of hours/weeks/additional costs associated with delivery/support offered. These costs support certificated training and there is an expectation that all participants will undertake a certificated training course prior to or during the LTU job placement.
The wage costs are met by Falkirk Council (You will pay the wages and reclaim in full from Falkirk Council). If payment in arrears is going to be barrier please speak to us.
Jobs must be supported by a nominated staff member (mentor) who, in turn, will be supported by a named contact from Falkirk Council’s Employment and Training Unit.
You will be responsible for induction and day-to-day management of the participant.
Progress will be reviewed regularly with participant and mentor and can be stopped if not working out.
Where the placement is successful, additional funding may be available after the 26-week period. Your named contact will help you to investigate this.

Funding Option – Bank of Scotland Foundation “Reach”
Revenue funding for one year of up to £25,000 can be claimed by established charities from this fund that opens again very shortly.

The Reach programme is suitable for charities that can demonstrate they address disadvantage or social exclusion and will reach the most vulnerable people across Scotland, to provide them with opportunity and equality and making positive, sustainable change.

For disadvantage, examples include charities addressing primary disadvantage such as homelessness, abuse, mental health or poverty, or secondary disadvantage such as debt issues, learning disabilities, illiteracy, lack of employability skills or health issues.

For social exclusion, examples include charities addressing exclusionary challenges for minorities, people with disabilities, LGBT people, drug users, institutional care leavers, the elderly or the young.

The next round opens at 12 noon on 7 March 2022 and closes at 12 noon on 17 March 2022. Grants will be awarded at the end of May 2022. All the rest of the information you need is at https://bankofscotlandfoundation.org/funding-programmes/reach

Funding Option – People’s Postcode Trust
The People’s Postcode Trust supports smaller charities and good causes in the Scotland to make a difference to their community for the benefit of people and planet.

This year, funding rounds will open each month from February to October. They will accept a limited number of applications in line with the amount of funds available for that round. If they do not reach this limit the round will close on the 10th of the month. Rounds will open at the start of each month but may close quickly so you need to get prepared!

They support projects under the following categories:

Improving mental wellbeing
Enabling community participation in the arts
Preventing or reducing the impact of poverty
Supporting marginalised groups and promoting equality
Improving biodiversity & green spaces
Enabling participation in physical activity
Responding to the climate emergency & promoting sustainability
Increasing community access to outdoor space

You can apply for either project or unrestricted funding. Charities and Community Interest Companies can apply for up to £25,000. Other non profit organisations can apply for up to £2,500. For more information on what is eligible under each category, see the funding guidelines on the Trust’s website.

Virtual Falkirk Funders Fayre 2022
Our friends at CVS Falkirk are once again hosting an online Funders Fayre, over three days next month. This will give you a chance to hear direct from funders about their latest funds and priorities, and how you can make the best application possible. It all happens from Tuesday 8 to Thursday 10 March and the funders you’ll hear from are:

Tesco Community Grants
Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership
The Clothworkers Foundation
The Foyle Foundation
Henry Smith Charity
People’s Postcode Lottery
Foundation Scotland
National Lottery Community Fund
Corra Foundation

Sessions take place at 11am, 1pm and 3pm each day. All the info and registration form can be found on the CVS Falkirk website. It’s well worth taking the time to attend if you can.

And finally…
Just a reminder that you can apply for my job! I’m away at the end of this month and we’re looking for someone to come and continue the momentum and even do the job better! Closing date is next Friday (18th) so head over to the EVH Recruitment website for all the info.

That’s all for this week. Until next time…

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

coach, collaboration, community, development, employment, resilience, Support, training

The power of Collaboration

25/11/202124/11/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 25 November 2021

Yesterday morning, as part of my work with the NHS THRIVE to Keep Well programme that we’re piloting in this area, we were thrilled to bring together a number of training and employability partners to advise the participants of the many opportunities that were available to them at whatever level they wanted to be. We set up a Covid safe exhibition area at Camelon Community Centre and the participants were free to chat with the staff from these organisations. We also had some craft activities to help them relax and have something else to do while they either plucked up the courage to go and speak, or reflected on the information they’d been given.

There were many highlights for me in this event. Firstly, I’d forgotten how great it is to actually be in a room with various partners. Covid has taken so much from us over recent times and while I admit that this is one of the more frivolous matters, it was still really good to experience again. Even the partners really valued being able to share and network with each other face to face (behind masks and appropriately distanced of course). And even with the safety measures in place, glancing around the room and hearing the chatter brought feelings of some kind of normality coming back again.

My second highlight was seeing the participants engaging with the partner agencies and getting meaningful, personal advice for their next steps. They were initially nervous but once one of them stepped forward, the others soon followed and the conversations began to flow. Considering the various journeys the participants have been on over the last 13 weeks, this was so heart-warming to see. This is one of the key things that drives me in this job – supporting local people to get the right information, advice and direction to move towards whatever a positive destination looks like for them individually. This is not a one size fits all support. I really do want to get it right for every person.

My final highlight, was the feedback from the partner agencies. All of them spoke of how they quickly got a sense of the progression that the participants had made while being on this programme. They also commented on the genuine desire from the participants to continue this forward movement in the best way possible for them, whether that be more training courses, volunteering, or moving into work. While my fellow facilitators and I can see this for ourselves, it was so good to hear from others – it makes this so worthwhile.

So my thanks to 4 The Benefit of All, Cyrenians (Arnotdale House), Employment and Training Unit, Workers Educational Association, and CVS/Volunteer Falkirk for giving up their morning to come along and support our amazing participants. My hope is that early in the New Year, restrictions will allow us to do a larger event with these partners so more of you can benefit. As they say, watch this space! In the meantime, if you need any support with accessing training or employability support, or are looking to get into volunteering or even a job, then do get in touch and I’ll help and signpost you as appropriate for you. Contact details are below.

Until next time….

Dan Rous,
Community Coach,
07444 873151,
communitycoach@tamfourhill.co.uk

community, development, employment, funding, Support, training

Falkirk’s Funded Job Scheme

18/11/202117/11/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 18 November 2021

Earlier this week I attended an information session led by our friends at the Falkirk Council Employment and Training Unit, regarding a new funded Job scheme for third sector organisations. Todays blog will highlight the relevant information about this scheme so that we can hopefully bring some of these funded jobs into Camelon and Tamfourhill.

The Basics

In response to the economic impact of the covid-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government has awarded funding to encourage third sector organisations to offer paid work opportunities to people aged over 25 years, who have been unemployed for over 12 months and have additional barriers to employment. While the scheme is for all over Scotland, it is split down to local authority areas so this information relates purely to Falkirk. Their funding is enough to support 57 jobs which is a great opportunity, so let’s get to the detail.

Employee Eligibility

Participants must live in Scotland and have the right to live and work in the UK.
They must not be currently be engaged in employment, training or education.
They must be 25+, been out of work for 12 months of more, and be facing barriers to securing employment. This may be from a lack of relevant skills, background issues, confidence, transport, child care or other preventative issue.

Scheme Details

Start dates must be before 31 March 2022. The first start can be 22 November 2021 (although considering that is next week, it is unlikely!!)
The jobs will be fixed term for 26 weeks no matter when they start between now and March.
Terms & Conditions will align with your organisation (including annual leave, sick pay, holiday pay, pension etc).
Jobs will be a maximum of 30 hours per week but can be flexible to meet the needs of the individual and organisation, i.e. term time, less hours for longer
Each opportunity will attract funding up to a maximum of £10,000 for the host organisation depending on the hours offered.
The funding will vary against number of hours/weeks/additional costs associated with delivery/support offered.
The funding supports certificated training and there is an expectation that all participants will undertake a certificated training course prior to or during the job placement. The Employment and Training Unit can support with this as required.
Funding will be provided monthly by Falkirk Council. The official system is for organisations to pay the wages in the first instance and then reclaim in full from Falkirk Council. However, I know this will be an issue for many organisations so, if payment in arrears is going to be barrier please speak to the team at the Employment and Training Unit who have promised to find a way to make this work.
Jobs must be supported by a nominated staff member (mentor) who, in turn, will be supported by a named contact from the Employment and Training Unit.
Individual organisations will be responsible for induction and day-to-day management of the participant.
Progress will be reviewed regularly with participant and mentor and can be stopped if not working out for either party.
Where the placement is successful, additional funding may be available after the 26-week period. Your named contact at the Employment and Training Unit will help you to investigate this.

Request to organisations

Can you identify any opportunities where an additional member of staff would be of benefit within your organisation?
These may be entry level positions or something more substantial.
Do you know anyone who meets the eligibility criteria who would be interested?

Jobs will be allocated on a first come first served basis so while there’s no immediate rush, also don’t hang about. And if you don’t think you’ll be able to host a placement until later in the scheme, even 31 March, you are still encouraged to apply now, stating your requirements for a start date.

If you can create an opportunity, please contact EmployerEngagement@falkirk.gov.uk at your earliest convenience. If you need any support to consider your options or to apply, then please contact me in the usual way (see below) and I’ll help you through the process.

This is a fantastic opportunity to get an employee with your organisation, fully funded, to help you to grow and support more people in the Camelon and Tamfourhill area. Let’s see how many of these jobs we can bring in.

Until next time…

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, coach, community, development, Our Place, Support, training

Fun in the Park – Easter Carmuirs

21/10/202120/10/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 21 October 2021

I’ve mentioned a lot about the event this Sunday afternoon in Easter Carmuirs Park on our social media channels, but I just wanted to take time in this space to highlight one thing that we’ll be promoting.

Back in 2017, consultations took place about potential developments for Easter Carmuirs Park. This led to a draft masterplan being pulled together with support from the Central Scotland Green Network (now Green Action Trust) from which funding was sourced for a first phase of works. In 2019, that funding paid for the network of paths, trees, and other planting. Contrary to some peoples thinking (that we’ve tried so hard to correct), there was no left over funding from this. At that time, there was an attempt to set up a Tenants and Residents Association that gathered some good initial traction but sadly, due to lack of interest from locals, it fell to the wayside and has since been officially shut down by the council due to the lack of activity. The intention had been for that Association to take the lead on future developments in the park from the Masterplan but obviously that hasn’t happened.

So, it’s time to try something new.

We are keen to support the development of a Friends of Easter Carmuirs Park group. This would be a group for local residents and other park users who could take the lead in future developments of the park. It would have the full support from myself and John in getting established and accessing appropriate training as needed. It would be provided with all relevant contacts and information about the park, and would have the ability, with our support at least initially, to shape a prosperous community-focused future for the Park, including developing a wide range of regular community activities. It would be the route for shaping how the park looks and what facilities are available based on local needs and aspirations. This may be similar or different to the original masterplan as people have begun to understand and use the park differently, but it may still have some of the original elements that were thought necessary. In short though, if people want to see future developments in the Easter Carmuirs Park, then this is the group to get involved with otherwise very little, if anything, will happen.

So who will step up?

Previous editions of this blog have addressed the topics of “Why Bother” and “Why Not” to help people’s mindset on community development. This new group is just one opportunity for people to answer those Why? questions and get involved. This is a time to stop moaning that nothing happens or that there aren’t any suitable facilities (which we would agree with by the way) and actually get involved to make something happen.

If you don’t feel you have the necessary skills – we can sort that.
If you don’t feel you have the time – there will be roles and tasks at various levels. Even having someone supporting from the sidelines will be key for this new group.
If you think you’re too old or young – nonsense!
If you think it’s a waste of time – please speak to me to allow me to try to help you think otherwise.
If you don’t think anything will come of this – well it won’t unless people actually get involved.

So, if you can get down to the event on Sunday afternoon between 1 and 4pm, come and have a chat with me and add your name to the list of interested people. (Don’t worry if no-one else has put their name down – someone needs to be first!). If you can’t get to the event but are interested in finding out more, then please get in touch with me – contact details are at the foot of this blog – and we can have a chat. I’ll pull a meeting together for interested parties in the coming weeks. Putting your name on the list for attending the meeting does not mean you have to be involved. But it’s a start, to see what could be involved and whether or not you could be involved yourself. Remember my blog the other week talking about a Community Revolution? I repeat what I said then: Let’s stop just talking about community matters and remember that communities matter. Let’s change the emphasis – together.

I look forward to working with members of this new group to bring more positive change in the area. Hopefully see some of you at the event on Sunday!

Until next time….

Dan Rous,
Community Coach,
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

coach, community, development, resilience, Support

Empowered?

07/10/202107/10/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 7 October 2021

What does it mean to be empowered?

Is it something that is done to you? Something you can learn to do? Or something you grow within yourself, for yourself?

Your view on those questions could determine whether or not you’re going to like this blog!

Empowerment has become a real buzz word of late. It’s the new big thing in so many circles of life but especially in community work. But have we all understood it properly or are some of us using it as a way around things? Will it make your project look better if you talk about empowerment. If you give this opportunity/activity/programme/facility/building to the community you’ll be empowering them. It’s time to think again.

I promised myself that this blog would not become a rant and I will stick to that, but you’ll maybe pick up the sentiment in that last paragraph as a sense of my feelings. So let me be very clear. Just passing something on to a community or individual is not empowering them. It is passing the buck and potentially, setting them up to fail.

So what really is this empowerment thing. Quite simply, it can only be done to you, by you. No one else can empower you and while we’re on it, no else has the right to dis-empower you. You, as an individual have to feel empowered. And that comes by increasing the control you have over your own life. People can help you to do that, but ultimately you are the only person who can empower you. So, if you’re sitting there waiting to be empowered – STOP! Start working at feeling empowered.

It has been said that this empowerment thing is about what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. Can you hear the difference there? This is about your desires, not your issues. Cormac Russell, Managing Director of Nurture Development and the oracle on Asset Based Community Development that I’ve spoken of many times before, says it is about “what you have, rather than what you don’t have – what you can contribute rather than what you can receive.” He says this is about individuals using their head, hearts, hands etc – their talents, skills and passions. So in other words, rather than sitting back and waiting for others to do things around you, what can you do to contribute? It may not be huge and it doesn’t have to be, but as a place you probably know well says regularly: “Every little helps”.

One crucial point I need to make here. We often see government – both local council and national government – doing what communities can do. Cormac Russell simply says “get out of the way and let [the community] do it, but resource them where necessary – don’t just pull out without checking they can actually do it sustainably.” So this brings me back to my point earlier. Those who think they are in positions of authority (Maff Potts of Camerados reminds me that we are all in authority) should not just think they can walk away and leave communities to get on with stuff. They need to check that the skills exist in the community. That the desire, longevity and sustainability can be found in the community. Where support is needed – provide it, whether that be in person or financially. Where guidance is needed – supply it either directly or through signposting and partnership. Where things are needed to be brought up to a workable standard before they can be passed on – do whatever is needed.

This all centres around stuff I’ve been banging on about for ages. Work with communities. Work alongside individuals. Involve people.

So how can you begin to feel this empowerment for yourself? Well that’s a very good question and one that I would love to help you answer because the process and destination will be very different for each one of you. Would you let me have the honour of sitting with you to help you find answers to the questions you are posing, and help you to begin to feel empowered within yourself and move further towards your potential? How do we do this? I’m glad you asked! Contact me about 1 to 1 coaching sessions and I will tell you all you need to know. For now, there’s some info through that link and on the flyer below. I look forward to working alongside you in this.

Until next time…..

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

coach, community, development, Our Place, Support

Legacy

23/09/202122/09/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 23 September 2021

What will people think of you when you’re gone? Okay, that’s maybe not a cheerful question to ask you so let me put it another way. What impact are you having on those around you right now? If asked, how would people describe you? Now I know the answer to the last one will probably be “it depends on who you’re asking”! But think generally. How would people describe you based on your contribution to your family, the community or even the wider society?

Regular readers of this blog will know I have often focussed on how people are getting involved in the community – or rather, how I can support them to do so. You will also know that I mention that not just for the fun of it, but because I genuinely want to support people to grow and in turn, for the community, and the activities within it, to grow. My personal mission statement has for some time been “developing projects that enable people and communities to be developed” and I have been personally blessed over the years to see so many people get involved and move into whatever a positive destination looks like for them.

So, back to the question I started with but in another different way – what will your legacy be? What impact are you having now, that will be remembered by others in years to come? What project are you involved with that is creating positive memories for others? In the video below, Simon Sinek talks about this and reminds us that often we won’t even know the impact we’re having on people in our lifetime. That leads me to another angle on this. If someone is having a positive impact on your life right now or has in the past and you’re still in touch, please go and tell them now! Don’t wait until you’re at their funeral to share your memories. Its so wonderful when people tell you how you’ve impacted their lives and will actually make you feel great too for doing so. We did an exercise in the THRIVE to Keep Well session this week where everyone got a Self Esteem Tree filled with comments that the other group members wrote about them. It was amazing to see the reactions from the members as they heard such lovely comments about themselves – some of which they may not have thought was true or certainly hadn’t heard said to them for a while. The power of that moment was immense so please, make any impact known to those who are helping you, or even just say something nice and encouraging to someone you come into contact with today.

But back to how we actually create a positive legacy. You can watch the video below but I’ll also pull out some key points as I see them. Sinek talks about how we play what he refers to as the “game of life” and what impact we will have depending on what rules we set to playing this game. He talks about our choice of having a finite or infinite mindset to life. Okay, fancy words here, but quite simply, finite means being pretty much closed off within your own world with your own needs in mind, whereas infinite means you have a wider outlook on things. He says, if we choose to have a finite mindset, our focus is “I’m going to be number one. I’m going to make every decision as to what will pay me more, what will get me more power and what will get me more influence.” If that is all we focus on, we can very easily end up lonely, stressed and having various health related issues. Our circle of friends is likely to be very very small.

I know I’ve made wrong decisions before about jobs, but I’ve also made some really good ones based on what impact the job can have and not at all on how much it pays me. What that is about is, to return to Sinek’s wording, playing the game of life with an infinite mindset. This means, he says, “we live our lives with the knowledge that we will die, and we want to leave this world, our families our friends, in better shape than when we found them.” This all might sound a bit morbid, but really, deep down, we want people to have good things to say about us when we’re gone. To enable that to happen, we need to start building the legacy right now.

Sinek goes on to say that “so many people think about their legacies at their end of their lives, when they face their own mortality – that’s the problem. Only when they face their mortality do they start thinking about legacy and giving it all away. … Why not live your entire life thinking about your legacy, meaning what impact will we have on the lives of others. No one wants to be remembered for the amount of money they made. No one wants on their tombstone the last balance on their bank account or the title on their business card. We want to be remembered for the impact we had on the lives of others.” (Have a watch of the short video below.)

So what can you be involved in that will help create that amazing legacy? You may already be doing it which is great – let me thank you right now for what you’re doing. But for those of you reading this who aren’t sure what legacy you’re creating or even how you can create something, then give me a shout. I would love to be able to coach you so that you find the answers to the questions you’re asking – and even to those questions you don’t know you need to be asking! Get in touch, and let’s create some amazing legacies for ourselves and for this community of ours.

Until next time.. ..

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, coach, collaboration, community, development, Our Place, resilience, Support, tamfourhill, training

Communities Matter

16/09/202115/09/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 16 September 2021

In my blog last week, I invited you to join the Community Revolution. But what does this really mean? Can you, members of the community, actually make a difference? Quite simply – YES!! Let’s explore this a little further

What I love about working in Community Development is the ability to be alongside local people and help them to make a real difference on their streets. To help them gain new skills, try new things, meet people just down the street who they’d never met before, fix issues, start new projects and so much more.

Our friends at the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) have put together a great piece that explains Community Development in 60 seconds. You can see it here.

They explain that “Community development is a process where people come together to take action on what’s important to them.” Read that statement again and notice the key emphasis. People – you – come together. People – you – take action.

As community, we cannot rely on external bodies to do everything for us. This is not the place to argue whether they should be or not – we all have our views and probably agree on a lot but we don’t have time to banter that topic right now. It is worth noting however that those of you living in Tamfourhill (Ward 7 – Falkirk South) have the opportunity right now to challenge those wanting to be elected to serve in the bi-election next month. Ask them how they will help the community actually develop and how they will work alongside you. (All of you will get that opportunity next May when all council seats are up for grabs).

Aside of that, if you see an issue and instantly think that someone else will sort it, have you ever wondered if you might be the “someone else”? Could you be the person that steps up and makes a difference? SCDC suggest (and I agree) that there are 4 principles that are the foundation of Community Development:

Self-determination – people and communities have the right to make their own choices and decisions.
Empowerment – people should be able to control and use their own assets and means to influence.
Collective action – coming together in groups or organisations strengthens peoples’ voices.
Working and learning together – collaboration and sharing experiences is vital to good community activity.

What this means is that even if you’re the one who steps up first, there will be others who will join you. They might take a little while to come, but they will come. Together, you make your own choices, take control, form a collective voice, share resources and learn from each other. The second point is especially important. Empowerment has become a buzz word lately and there is a lot of talk about empowering communities and individuals. Unfortunately, the meaning gets lost when those deemed to be in positions of power simply give their permission for locals to do things. That is not empowerment – that is passing the buck. People need to feel that they are empowered with choice, opportunity and real genuine power. To be able to take control of who they are and what happens around them. There are various ways to do that so let’s have a chat.

SCDC continue that Community Development “recognises that some people, some groups and some communities are excluded and oppressed by the way society and structures are organised.” I don’t think we’d disagree with that statement. But rather than wallow in self pity and throw out another social media rant that the keyboard warriors will jump on, together you can turn the tide and create a more positive future.

So what is it that you want, either for yourself or your community? Do you want to learn? Do you want to tidy the place up? Do you want to do something active? Do you want a new group to start? Let’s be honest – the list is probably endless for all those questions (and more) together. But we have to start somewhere. One of our tasks here at OPCT is to support you to move forwards but also to manage expectations. We cannot fix everything and certainly not quickly. But together, we can do a whole lot more.

Let’s stop just talking about community matters and remember that communities matter. Let’s change the emphasis – together.

Until next time….

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

Image source: Scottish Community Development Centre website

community, development, resilience, Support

Need some inspiration?

09/09/202109/09/2021 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 9 September 2021

On Tuesday of this week, I was privileged to be part of the facilitation team for a Scottish focussed UK Jamboree for Asset Based Community Development, or ABCD as it’s easier to call it! I’ve spoken about this method of community work in a previous blog, and this online Jamboree was a chance to celebrate all that is good about communities.

The first UK gathering happened around 6 months ago and an outcome from that was to have regionally run gatherings, showcasing all that was great and good in different areas to a wider audience. A Scottish team was quickly established and together we set about to plan an event that would be the first one in the baton passing format. So I joined a team that included Community Development workers from the Strathcarron Hospice Compassionate Communities team, a Community Coordinator from Corra Foundation based in the West of Scotland, and the founder of Village in the City in Edinburgh. We quickly assembled a plan with some speakers, 2 of whom would do 20 minutes and 4 would do 5 minutes. This meant we could squeeze as much great stuff into the half day session as possible.

Just short of 100 people gathered for the event from around the whole UK and beyond – including from Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal and South Africa! All of them gathered for a good time of celebration but I don’t think any of us were prepared for just how inspired and enthused we were going to be. So here’s some highlights from each of the speakers that I picked up and hopefully they’ll inspire and enthuse you as well.

Cormac Russell, Nurture Development
Cormac is the go to guy for all things ABCD and pulled the first UK Jamboree together. He kicked things off with a few words of welcome. He spoke about the power of people and reminded us that it’s all about the process, not just the product. This all relates wonderfully to how you just engage with and work alongside people towards a goal, but how because of the strengths and ideas people bring, the end goal may be different to what was first thought out. The journey to get there strengthens the community to sustain whatever the outcome was. He also encouraged us to stay “in trouble” and quoted from the Leonard Cohen song, Anthem: “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget the perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” (I’ll put the full song video at the end of the blog). As always, simply brilliant from Cormac.

Fiona McKenzie, CentreStage
This is an arts project in Kilmarnock but really is so much more than that. Fiona spoke of creating a Welcoming Happy Place where people write their own stories. They even received some funding from a regular funder to “do something” and the outcomes were worked out later. The aim being that the Centre users had the say in what developed. The key quote here being that “choice brings empowerment”. How often have I mentioned about stopping doing stuff to people but just work alongside them and let them lead the way? This project is a shining example of that.

Tamsin Ferrier, Denny Poppies
Tamsin is a resident in Denny who, during Lockdown, had the idea of creating a Remembrance Day project that was similar to something achieved in her original home town. She admitted she has lots of ideas but struggles to keep quiet! (we know a few people like that too!) The amazing thing about this project was the ripple effect created by such a simple idea to make poppies to decorate the town. Tamsin spoke of how the project overcame negativity (you know the type – don’t do that because it’ll get wrecked), by simply focusing on the positives. Oh yeah, and not one poppy got wrecked. The takeaway message was this: “By everyone doing a little bit, we can make a huge, huge difference to where we live”. Brilliant.

Frances Park, Carbrain & Hillcrest Community Council
We heard about how real support for people in this area of Cumbernauld grew out of a frustration that every other support process was a referral system. Frances told us how they needed to support each other – they needed a voice – so they just started a swap shop. And from what started out as covid support, they now have a funded Development Worker and a Community Hub!

Lynne Boslem, Tamfourhill Community Hub
We heard of the journey from a group of 8 parents wanting a club for their children, to the amazing community resource that exists now and is still growing. Lynne spoke of the desire to truly meet the needs of the community but also about the challenges to learn things really quickly especially when it comes to asset transfer. Many were impressed with the Play Park, so an influx of visitors is to be expected! Although with many asking if adults can use the zip wire, they may have to supervise things closely!!

Leah Davcheva, Dragalevtsi, Sofia, Bulgaria
Reflecting the true European nature of Scotland, this project was highlighted as it is an outpost of the Edinburgh based “Village in the City” project. Leah spoke of “sparkling moments” from their project called The Triangle, where a community garden project has created so many opportunities for the people in the area. One resident said that they “spoke with people I had previously seen only behind car windows”. Leah added that the very fact that we know each others names is, I think, an achievement.

Sam Green / Mia McGregor, Creative Stirling / The Cube Project
Mia told us how her creative arts project was born out of frustration. She was fed up with always having to tick boxes, so decided to turn a box into something positive. From the grand total of £400 that she scraped together, 3 years later over 23,000 have engaged with the project and have had creativity sparked within them. She added that the cube works better if there’s no specific question and people can just take part and connect. Sam added that when we get to know each other, we treat each other better. Enough said!

Astoundingly, while the speakers were just selected because they were great, a couple of clear themes were picked up by people in the zoom chat and on twitter. Firstly that you only need a tiny spark of inspiration to make a huge difference. Secondly, getting to know people for who they are can really change a community. In fact one quote on the chat was “the more people in a community know each other by their first name, the safer that community is”. And that’s how simple developing a community can be – bring people together, help them to get to know each other properly and talk about their strengths. It’s about genuine relationships and connection.

There are many challenges within this way of thinking to those that think they hold the power and are perhaps perceived to be the ones who can make a difference. Nothing can happen without people so why don’t we turn things around and come together properly as local people and show them how it’s done. You have the real power. At the risk of repeating myself yet again, let’s stop looking for the negative and focus on the positive by creating even more new positives. (And for the record, all 20 trees are still growing nicely in the ground where the Tidy Clean Green volunteers planted them almost a month ago).

The tide is turning for the better but there is still so much to do – still more of you to meet – still more names we all need to get to know. Those who are getting involved already need some wing men/women. Who’s up for it? Come and join the growing Camelon and Tamfourhill community revolution.

Until next time, as promised, I’ll leave you with that Leonard Cohen song I mentioned above.

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk